Sometimes life asks (demands?) that we look back to look forward. Perhaps we find ourselves at a distinctive choice or end point where our actions are no longer sustainable. In those times, it helps us decide which direction to take by first fully acknowledging what got us here. Because we can’t fix a problem unless we fully understand the problem itself.
And that isn’t easy. It takes courage to be accountable, get real, and dig deep into patterns we may want to forget. But the irony, of course, is true freedom can only be found when we do that hard work. There is something incredibly liberating about acknowledging the facts of the matter- even and especially if the facts are hard.
Psychologically we label this type of processing shadow work. Astrologically we label it Scorpio. Scorpio represents the stuff in life that takes us completely out of our comfort zone and into places of deep vulnerability. A flavor of vulnerability that’s not necessarily rooted in emotions, though emotions do arise here, but vulnerability rooted in uncertainty itself. Where our control rests in showing up to the hard, not necessarily changing the hard.
We have been living a shadow course of this experience with the South Node in Scorpio for the last 16 months or so. So if you have been on a hero’s journey (or three), if you have had to look deeply at some challenging patterns, if you have had to admit some hard things and be accountable, if you have faced some sharp consequences, if you have had a graduate level course in letting go, and/or if you have just felt the raw heaviness of all of the shadow unraveling – you are not alone, and you are right on track.
Because uncertainty is tough. We are in the end patterns of unveiling as the South Node will move into Libra soon. This eclipse, though, is wringing the last bit of unveiling out of the current cycle, especially with Uranus standing in opposition. The gift is the promise of freedom, and the work deals with the realness of change- uncertainty itself.
I’ve written regarding uncertainty in past blogs, which makes sense. I write a lot about change, and one can’t have change without uncertainty. I’ve mentioned many tools along the way used to assist in navigating uncertain waters-stuff like trust, wonder, curiosity, intuition, accountability, technical truth, and realness.
But as I sit with the lesson of this eclipse and the North Node in Taurus (the medicine), I want to highlight an emotional force I haven’t explicitly named but is a guiding light during unsteady times.
Awe.
Recently I came across a book on awe called Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner.
We have likely all experienced awe at some point in our lives. Maybe we’ve contemplated the vastness of the universe or stood in the shadow of a giant Sequoia. Maybe we have felt the rise of goosebumps as we witness a story of triumph. Maybe we have felt tears sting our eyes in heartfelt compassion. Though we may have felt it, have we been able to label it? More so, have we been able to define and willingly seek it. In our busy world of status, competition, and basic survival, awe often takes a backseat.
But what if it didn’t?
The dictionary definition of awe is, “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder”. The definition from the book, “Awe is the emotion we experience when we encounter vast mysteries we don’t understand.” Thus, awe is indeed a required tool in our arsenal when walking through the unexplored and unexpected. Without awe we fall into the tar pits of shadow material- the denial, the wallowing, the despair, the hopelessness, and avoidance in all its forms. Awe, an expanding force keeps us open to new information and solutions. It keeps us curious. It keeps us seeking the light. Those that experience more awe are generally more curious and more comfortable with the mystery rather than focused solely on the certainty of answers.
Why? Because awe removes us from the minutiae of self-focused parts and connects us to something more expansive, bigger, and possible. Awe literally lights up parts of the brain that focus more on community, humility, and cooperation rather than self-absorbed fear centers. It links us directly to the precursors of hope, faith, sacrifice, and surrender. Unlike other self-preserving emotions, awe takes us out of ourselves and into collaboration.
What’s also interesting is what brings us awe and what doesn’t. The number one way to experience awe was to connect to “moral beauty,” being a witness to other people’s courage, kindness, strength, and overcoming. Next came “collective effervescence defined by experiences that allow us to be together” (think group events like concerts, church, and even political rallies). Next in line for experiences of awe include nature, music, visual design, spiritual or religious experiences, stories of triumph of life and death, and epiphanies.
What doesn’t bring sensations of awe? Anything from the material world, from money to status to social media mentions.
Now with any force or feeling, there is always a way to use it to help or hinder. Awe can be so transcendent and heady that wounded parts latch onto it becoming addictive, a dopamine fix of transmutation. This is also why group think can be quite intoxicating, distracting, bypassing, and even dangerous. When in awe we are easy to manipulate.
In its highest form, though, awe helps us navigate life’s most turbulent waters. It keeps things simple when complexity is swirling around us. It highlights what is truly of importance and what isn’t. It connects us to an inner sense of peace, an inner sigh of being that reminds us of both our frailty and magnificence.
The North Node in Taurus echoes these truths, and astrologically is the remedy right now. So, as we connect to this eclipse, let us reset our willingness to find the awe in the everyday world.
Let us find ways we can connect to it. Perhaps we contemplate the mysteries of science, listen to more music, watch more sunsets, or feel the wind on our face. Perhaps we read uplifting stories of perseverance, courage, triumph, and cooperation. Perhaps we focus on helping more and finding a way to use our freedom to serve. Perhaps we focus on the beauty in everyday moments, tiny flowers in cracks in the sidewalks, and hot cups of coffee on cold mornings.
Because as we venture into the coming Aquarian times, we need to harness forces that unite rather than divide, that opens our minds rather than contracts, and that reasons rather than rebels.
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”
~Albert Einstein
~This Full Moon Lunar Eclipse occurs at 14° Scorpio.
~If you could use some help figuring out what that all means, Contact Me for a mini chart reading.
~Photo credit Aidan Thorvalson
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